N O T E B O O K
G U I D E
Lawmakers and Legislatures
What makes an effective legislator?
S p e a k i n g
o f
P o l i t i c s
As you complete the Reading Notes, use these
terms in your answers:
constituent
pork
standing committee
joint committee
conference committee
appropriations
joint resolution
casework
P R E V I E W
Analyze the photograph of Congressman Joe Schwarz
and read about his background.
Biographical Information
Congressman Joe Schwarz
Republican, Michigan Seventh
District
Born: November 15, 1937, in
Battle Creek, Michigan
Education: B.A. University of
Michigan, 1959; M.D. Wayne
State University, 1964
Occupation: Doctor, U.S. Navy
1965–1967, served in Vietnam; served in the
Central Intelligence Agency, 1968–1970; private
medical practice, 1970–present
Previous political experience: Battle Creek city
commissioner, 1979–1985; mayor of Battle Creek,
1985–1987; Michigan State Senate, 1987–2002;
elected to U.S. House of Representatives, 2004
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Now answer these questions:
1. From the photograph and biography, what facts do
you know about Congressman Schwarz?
2. What things about Joe Schwarz do you think are
typical for a member of Congress? What things
might be atypical?
3. What aspects of his background do you think
would help make Joe Schwarz an effective legislator? Explain.
4. What things do you think Congressman Schwarz
and his staff will need to do, or learn to do, to help
him be an effective legislator?
R E A D I N G
N O T E S
Section 2
1. List two formal and two informal qualifications for
a member of Congress today (not 40 or 50 years
ago). Do you think the informal qualifications for
education and occupation help make an effective
legislator? Why or why not?
2. Study the apportionment map in Section 2, and
record information about any change to apportionment in your state. Then describe the process that
determined why your state gained or lost representatives or why it stayed the same.
3. Explain the difference between a delegate and a
trustee. Which do you think makes a more effective legislator, and why?
4. Create a bar graph or circle graphs to show the
percentage of incumbents who have been reelected
in the House and Senate since 1945. List three factors that help explain your graph or graphs.
Lawmakers and Legislatures 1
N O T E B O O K
G U I D E
Section 3
1. Fill in the blanks to complete this analogy: The
Senate “cools” legislation from the House like a
_________ cools ________. Create a simple
illustration for your analogy. Finally, list at least
two important differences between the House and
the Senate that might allow the Senate to “cool”
legislation from the House.
2. Which leadership position in Congress has the
most power? List some specific powers of that
position.
3. Create a simple table listing the five types of committees in Congress. Include these things in your
table for each type of committee:
• an appropriate symbol
• one or two of the committee’s important
functions
• a concrete example of that type of committee (if
possible)
4. Sketch a simple graph showing what has happened
to the size of House and Senate staff since 1930.
Then list two or three important jobs congressional staffers do.
5. Suppose you are a member of Congress and want
to create a new caucus. Come up with a creative
name for your caucus, and explain what issues or
topics your caucus would focus on.
Section 4
1. According to Article I of the Constitution, what are
the specific, or enumerated, powers of Congress?
What part of the Constitution allows Congress to
broaden its power beyond those enumerated powers?
2. Create a simple diagram that shows the six ways in
which Congress checks the other two branches of
government. Label each check, and indicate which
other branch each check applies to.
From each of those key powers, add at least two
more spokes with important pieces of information
about that power of Congress.
4. Create a political cartoon that shows why casework
is such an important aspect of being an effective
legislator.
Section 5
1. Create a Venn diagram comparing state legislatures with Congress. Identify at least three significant similarities and at least four important
differences between the two. Be specific.
2. Overall, do you think term limits are a good idea?
Why or why not?
P R O C E S S I N G
Create a report card that evaluates how effective a
legislator is.
• Select one of your own members of Congress—
representative or senator—or another national or
state legislator.
• Identify three to five criteria that you will use to
evaluate that legislator’s effectiveness. Use topics
from the lesson—such as committee assignments,
casework, and getting reelected—or other criteria
that you think are important.
• Find information about what your selected legislator has done in each area. Consider starting your
search on the legislator’s own Web site, or visit
Congresspedia, which has useful information and
links for every member of Congress.
• Based on your research, design a report card and
assign a letter grade for each item, along with
supporting evidence—such as facts, statistics, or
quotations—to justify the grade. Then give an
overall grade for the legislator’s effectiveness, along
with a summary explaining the grade.
3. Draw the spoke diagram below in your notebook.
Fill in each rectangle with a key power of Congress.
Key Powers of
Congress
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Lawmakers and Legislatures 2